New publication

Animus Association has analysed how the rights of trafficked persons are respected and promoted in Bulgaria. Despite increasing awareness that trafficking and the exploitation of human beings through forced labour or in slavery-like conditions constitute severe human rights violations, states tend to focus on the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, while the protection of the rights of trafficked persons lags behind. Often victims are purely seen as an instrument for the prosecution with little regard for the far-reaching impact testifying against their exploiters may have on their current and future wellbeing and long-term safety.

This report provides a legal analysis of the position of trafficked persons in criminal and other relevant proceedings in Bulgaria and their treatment by the judicial system, in particular their access to legal aid and the protection of their rights as victims and witnesses, including access to compensation. The report contains an analysis of the legal provisions pertaining to the position of victim/witness of trafficking and their implementation in practice, based on the experiences of service providers and interviews with victims. Attention is also paid to the national definition of human trafficking and its implementation, in particular whether it offers equal protection without discrimination to all potential victims, including sex workers and victims of trafficking and exploitation for purposes other than prostitution.

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Document number

1078

Date

1990

Title

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

In December 1990, the General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. On 1 July 2003, the Convention entered into force, at which point 35 States were parties to the convention, which acknowledges the role which the migration of workers plays in the global economy and provides international standards to address the treatment, welfare and rights of migrant workers regardless of their status, as well as setting out the obligations and responsibilities of states who host migrant workers and members of their families. The convention covers rights and protection for migrant workers at all stages of their migration, from their preparation in their country of origin, the period of transit, their stay in states of employment and their return to and resettlement in their country of origin. It also extends the concept of "equality of treatment" by calling for migrant workers and members of their families, who are non-nationals in states of employment, to be treated equally, within certain parameters. The Convention is a comprehensive international treaty, inspired by existing legally binding agreements, by United Nations human rights studies, by the conclusions and recommendations of meetings of experts, and by the debates and resolutions on the migrant worker question in United Nations bodies over the past two decades. Like all other international human rights agreements, the Convention sets standards which create a model for the laws and the judicial and administrative procedures of individual States. Governments of States which ratify or accede to the Convention undertake to apply its provisions by adopting the necessary measures. They undertake to ensure that migrant workers whose rights have been violated may seek judicial remedy. Speeches and written submissions to the UN Committee of Migrant Workers: 15 December 2005: Day of General Discussion: Protecting the rights of all migrant workers as a tool to enhance development - http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/mwdiscussion.htm